Page 85 of Sun Warrior

CHAPTER 20

“Can a Lynx revoke her choice of Companion?” Sora asked Antreas after she was sure Danita and Bast had left the burrow.

“No.”

“Too bad for you.”

Antreas threw back his head and laughed. “Why couldn’t Bast be obsessed with someone like you?”

Sora sobered instantly. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Why not? I think you’re beautiful. And you’re funny. And you can damn sure cook.”

Sora shook her head in disgust. “And here I was thinking that you were a nice guy who was shackled to a bossy cat. I’m pretty and funny and can cook?You think that’s all I am?Antreas, Companion to Bast, I am a Moon Woman, chosen by the Great Earth Goddess to wield moon magick and to be responsible for the welfare of an entire Clan. We’re not solitary. We don’t let anyone choose our mates for us. Here, in Earth Walker territory, women do the choosing. Always. And let me be clear—I wouldn’t be mated to a solitary den dweller like you if a thousand cats chose me. If you want to make any kind of headway with Danita, or any other Earth Walker your feline takes a fancy to, I suggest you check your ego back at your den and change your attitude.”She scoffed at him as she scooped up the sleepy pup and handed him the ladle to the stew. “Here, stir this. I need some air.”

He took the ladle but also touched her hand gently. “I’m sorry.”

She paused. “For?”

“For being an ass. I offended you. I offended Danita. I even offended my Bast.” He ran his hand through his hair again, looking boyish and miserable. “I can’t seem to do anything right.”

Sora sighed. “Change places with me. You stir the stew and add in those mushrooms. I’ll finish muddling the poppy and honey mixture.”

“Can we keep talking?”

“Yes, we can.”

“Thank you,” Antreas said as he took Sora’s seat by the hearth and began adding mushrooms to the fragrant stew.

Sora sat cross-legged across from him with the sleepy pup tucked against her thigh, choosing fat poppy pods from the basket of herbs and sprinkling them into the honey. She picked up the stone muddler and went back to grinding and mixing. “No need to thank me. If we’re going to make this merging of Tribe and Clan and Chain work, we’re all going to have to learn to be more patient with each other. You just insulted me.” He started to protest, but she cut him off. “I know you didn’t mean to. You had no way of knowing Earth Walker women choose their mates. Just like I didn’t have any idea your Lynx chooses your mate for you. We’re all going to have to listen to one another and not be so quick to take offense.”

“So, along with being beautiful, funny, and a good cook you’re also smart and magickal. Little wonder I wish Bast would choose you.”

Sora bowed her head slightly in acknowledgment and smiled at him. “And now I’ll take that as a compliment. Thank you.”

“At least we’re communicating clearly, because I meant it as a compliment and not as an insult,” he said.

“That’s an improvement. So, tell me, cat man, what are you going to do if Bast chooses Danita for you? Or has she already chosen her and you’re in a rather advanced state of denial?”

He laughed and said, “Bast hasn’t chosen Danita. Yet.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she hasn’t bitten Danita.”

“What! Did you say that she hasn’tbittenDanita?”

“Yep. Oh, don’t worry. It’s not dangerous or malicious. When a Lynx chooses a Companion’s mate, the mate is Marked by the Lynx’s bite. It’s protective. It lets other Lynxes know that this person belongs to a Chain, and is under the protection of all Lynxes, everywhere. We don’t live together as a Tribe or a Clan, but we are fiercely loyal to our Chain—and all Lynx Companions are connected to the same Chain.”

Antreas paused, and Sora could see that he was trying to decide whether or not to tell her more. Finally he shrugged. “Oh, what the hell, I might as well tell you everything. You are a Moon Woman. You’re used to magick.”

“This is getting good. Go ahead; I’m all ears.”

Instead of speaking, Antreas rolled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal two round, puckered scars that were surrounded by an intricate and beautiful pattern of vines and flowers that had been permanently inked into his skin. The scars and decorations were obviously old and had healed well, but she could see that the bite had been nasty—deep and painful—and she couldn’t imagine that the decorative pattern had been easy to endure, either.

“Great Goddess! Bast did that? And what is that decoration? It looks permanent.”

His smile was wry as he nodded. “Yes, it’s permanent, and yes, Bast bit me. It was the happiest moment of my life.”